4 Top Places To Spend A Romantic Anniversary

Whether you found love later in life and are celebrating your first anniversary or you have been with your life partner for decades, make this anniversary count by visiting some on the most romantic places in North America.

Here’s my choice of five:

Niagara-on-the-Lake

Niagara-on-the-Lake has been called the loveliest town in Ontario. The Old Town is made for walking. The countryside spreads out below the Escarpment and is dotted with vineyards where you can toast your vintage love. Awash with fabulous restaurants, the town itself is full of heritage buildings and fabulous restaurants. Take a carriage ride along Queen Street with its chic boutiques and be sure to catch a performance at the top repertory company, the Shaw Festival, showcasing musicals, comedies and provocative dramas. Reserve a room at the Charles Inn (circa 1832) located on the main street, near shops, galleries and the scenic Niagara River Recreation Trail running along the waterway. Propose all over again with the All You Have To Do Is Ask package. Enjoy two nights of accommodation with continental breakfast, dinner for two, a horse drawn carriage tour, rose petals and candles to highlight your room, and a bottle of VQA sparkling wine. Just bring the ring. The Charles Inn. $225-$350 per night.

Savannah Georgia

Sultry Savannah’s combination of colonial architecture and southern charm have made sure this historic city never runs short of romance. Stroll River Street, City Market and through neighborhoods of elegantly restored homes and beautiful gated gardens. You’ll find eclectic shops, intriguing sites and cafes along the way. History buffs are drawn to Wormsloe, one of the only surviving examples of a true plantation. Bonaventure Cemetery and the Mercer House also recall a bygone era. At the close of day, make your way to one of the South’s most romantic B&B’s: Built in 1868, The Gastonian is a four-diamond, award-winning bed and breakfast. Enjoy afternoon tea, complimentary evening cordials, gourmet breakfasts and the best in Southern hospitality. Try for a Grand Superior Room, with a King-size canopy bed, fireplace and a large whirlpool tub, perfect for an anniversary. The Gastonian B&B. Rooms from $139- $399..

New Orleans, Louisiana

The Crescent City offers the coolest jazz, the hottest nightlife, the best food in the South and a mix of cultures that makes the city positively vibrate with joy. Make your home base The Ritz Carlton and they throw in breakfast for two, a walking tour of the city (the city’s walkable historic core includes Faubourg Marigny, the French Quarter, the Warehouse and Arts District, Magazine Street, the Garden District and St. Charles Avenue), a $50 hotel credit and a glass fleur de lis to remember your stay, all for $249. Spend the day checking out the voodoo shops, art galleries and most interesting cemeteries in the world. Then put on your dancing shoes and head out to feast on crayfish, champagne and Creole delicacies, dance to some Preservation Jazz or grab a seat on one of the beautiful wrought-iron balconies, sip a julep and watch the world go by. You’ll be ready to slip between the Ritz’s luxe linens and make one more memory for a Cajun anniversary you will never forget. The Ritz Carlton $169-$5000.

Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Jackson Hole Wyoming, right next to Grand Teton National Park (the place to see wildlife) is only an hour from Yellowstone Park, meaning Jackson Hole is surrounded by these parks, three national forests and the National Elk refuge, preserving the area’s wild nature for you to enjoy. With magnificent mountains and rivers — including the iconic Snake River — you can spend an active anniversary indulging in world-class whitewater rafting, to-die-for skiing, fantastic trails for horseback riding and spend part of your day having a romantic picnic near an alpine lake. Come into town and peruse galleries full of the finest Western art, culinary masterpieces (including a renowned chocolate and pastry shop) and restaurants perfect for that special dinner. End your evening at the Silver Dollar Saloon (2,200 uncirculated Morgan Silver Dollars are embedded in the bar) where you can dance the night away before retiring to your room at the historic Wort Hotel. Their Honeymoon Package features a two-night stay, breakfast in bed, dinner in their famous grill (with a champagne toast) and a special gift (they are known for their teddy bears) for $399 per person. It’s truly the best of the west and perfect for a rip-roaring anniversary. The Wort Hotel Rooms $369-$429.

Kitt Walsh owns a web content company, Behind Blogs (http://www.behindblogs.com), is a regular contributor to CNN Money, a public speaker on Social Media, a book editor and ghostwriter, and freelances as a feature writer, editor and marketing consultant for magazines, newspapers and private clients around the world.